When the Bough Breaks: An Alex Delaware Novel, Book 1

Dr. Morton Handler practiced a strange brand of psychiatry. Among his specialties were fraud, extortion, and sexual manipulation. Handler paid for his sins when he was brutally murdered in his luxurious Pacific Palisades apartment. The police have no leads, but they do have one possible witness: seven-year-old Melody Quinn.

Billy Straight

Twelve-year-old Billy Straight - precocious, heartbreakingly perceptive, relentlessly moral - has fled the chaos and abuse of his life at home and is fighting to survive on L.A.'s meanest streets. All alone, Billy has fashioned a precarious existence for himself, using principled tricks to nourish his body and his mind. Late one night he watches from his hiding place as a man viciously butchers a woman. Billy becomes the center of terrifying attention - from the media, from violent bounty hunters, and from the murderer himself.

The Murderer's Daughter: A Novel

Brilliant, beautiful, and stunningly effective, psychologist Dr. Grace Blades has a special gift for treating troubled souls and healing tormented psyches - perhaps because she bears her own invisible scars. Only five years old when she witnessed her parents die in a bloody murder-suicide, Grace took refuge in her towering intellect and found comfort in the loving couple who adopted her. But as an adult, Grace's accomplished professional life vies with a covert, high-risk dark side, played out harrowingly. And when Grace's two worlds shockingly converge, her past returns with a vengeance.

True Detectives: A Novel

In Jonathan Kellerman's gripping novels, the city of Los Angeles is as much a living, breathing character as the heroes and villains who roam its labyrinthine streets. Sunny on the surface but shadowy beneath, this world of privilege and pleasure has a dark core and a dangerous edge. In True Detectives, Kellerman skillfully brings his renowned gifts for breathless suspense and sharp psychological insight to a tale that resonates on every level and satisfies at every turn.

Night Moves: An Alex Delaware Novel

A disturbing murder with shocking consequences sets in motion the new book in the number-one best-selling suspense series starring psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis. An affluent family returns home from Sunday dinner only to find the murdered and brutalized corpse of a total stranger in their house. This baffling, twisted tale tests Alex and Milo to their intellectual and emotional limits.

The Golem of Hollywood

A burned-out L.A. detective...a woman of mystery who is far more than she seems...a grotesque, ancient monster bent on a mission of retribution. When these three collide, a new standard of suspense is born. The legend of the Golem of Prague has endured through the ages, a creature fashioned by a 16th-century rabbi to protect his congregation, now lying dormant in the garret of a synagogue. But the Golem is dormant no longer....

Crime Scene: A Novel

Eccentric, reclusive Walter Rennert lies cold at the bottom of his stairs. At first glance the scene looks straightforward: a once-respected psychology professor done in by booze and a bad heart. But his daughter, Tatiana, insists that her father has been murdered, and she persuades Clay Edison to take a closer look at the grim facts of Rennert's life. What emerges is a history of scandal and violence and an experiment gone horribly wrong that ended in the brutal murder of a coed.

The Conspiracy Club

When his brief, passionate romance with nurse Jocelyn Banks is cut short by her kidnapping and brutal murder, Dr. Jeremy Carrier is left emotionally devastated, haunted by his lover's grisly demise and warily eyed by police still seeking a prime suspect in the unsolved slaying. To escape the pain, he buries himself in his work as staff psychologist at City Central Hospital, only to be drawn deeper into a waking nightmare when more women turn up murdered in the same gruesome fashion as Jocelyn Banks.

The Ritual Bath: The First Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Novel

Detective Peter Decker of the LAPD is stunned when he gets the report. Someone has shattered the sanctuary of a remote yeshiva community in the California hills with an unimaginable crime. One of the women was brutally raped as she returned from the mikvah, the bathhouse where the cleansing ritual is performed.

Rules of Prey: A Lucas Davenport Novel

The "maddog" murderer who is terrorizing the Twin Cities is two things: insane and extremely intelligent. He kills for the pleasure of it and thoroughly enjoys placing elaborate obstacles to keep police befuddled. Each clever move he makes is another point of pride. But when the brilliant Lieutenant Lucas Davenport, a dedicated cop and a serial killer's worst nightmare, is brought in to take up the investigation, the maddog suddenly has an adversary worthy of his genius.

The Late Show

Renée Ballard works the night shift in Hollywood, beginning many investigations but finishing none, as each morning she turns her cases over to day shift detectives. A once up-and-coming detective, she's been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor. But one night she catches two cases she doesn't want to part with: the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. Ballard is determined not to give up at dawn.

Capital Crimes

Husband and wife Jonathan and Faye Kellerman, both internationally best-selling authors, team up for a powerful one-two punch with Capital Crimes, a pair of original thrillers set in two cities rich in atmosphere: Berkeley and Nashville.

Publisher's Summary

The number one New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Kellerman's "psychology skills and dark imagination are a potent literary mix" (Los Angeles Times), and this intensely thrilling blend has never been so powerful as in the acclaimed author's new novel of murder and madness among the beautiful dreamers, seductive predators, and doomed innocents adrift in the glare of Southern California's eternal sunshine.

A series of horrifying events occur in quick succession in the same upscale L.A. neighborhood. A backyard renovation unearths an infant's body, buried 60 years ago. And soon thereafter in a nearby park, another disturbingly bizarre discovery is made not far from the body of a young woman shot in the head. Helping LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis to link these eerie incidents is brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware. But even the good doctor's vast experience with matters both clinical and criminal might not be enough to cut down to the bone of this chilling case - and draw out the disturbing truth.

Backtracking six decades into the past stirs up tales of a beautiful nurse with a mystery lover, a handsome, wealthy doctor who seems too good to be true, and a hospital with a notorious reputation - all of them long gone, along with any records of a newborn, and destined for anonymity. But the specter of fame rears its head when the case unexpectedly twists in the direction of the highest echelons of celebrity privilege. Entering this sheltered world, Alex little imagines the macabre layer just below the surface - a decadent quagmire of unholy rituals and grisly sacrifice.

Before their work is done, Alex and Milo, "the most original whodunit duo since Watson and Holmes" (Forbes), must confront a fanatically deranged mind of such monstrous cunning that even the most depraved madman would shudder.

If you have read the series and enjoyed it despite the formulaic story lines then there is no reason to stop now!

This outing wasn't one of the best, still entertaining in a cheesy way. There are very obvious parallels to a current actress that make you wonder whether Kellerman is aiming for a movie deal. The crime was bizarre in keeping with the entire series premise, but it feels like this one was a bit of a stretch.

If you have never read any of the series do not make this your first, read When the Bough Breaks it is the first in the series and justifies how you can enjoy Guilt, an eventual watered down version of Milo and Alex.

Another great read by Jonathan Kellerman. Love John Rubinstein performance - does Milo Sturgis and Alex Deleware so great! Good plot - always keeps you guessing till the end. Good cast of characters with a few story lines going on. Very much enjoyed Guilt. In fact I could not stop listening - kept me up till the wee hours of the morning so...warning...make sure you have plenty of time to listen or have the will power to hit "pause". Highly recommend Guilt. If you have not read a Kellerman novel before, this is a good one to start with - gives you enough background on the two main characters so you don't feel you have missed out. Not sorry at all I pre-ordered this book. And, unlike some popular authors, Kellerman still delivers a long (time wise) novel even though his books are wildly popular. (Some authors give you only 6-7 hours per book.) Again, a great addictive read.

Don't waste your credit! I have been a Jonathan Kellerman fan from the first Alex Delaware novel. Read or listened to them all. This book was so boring if I could get my credit back I would. The story is weak with absolutely NO excitement and very little of the humor that is normally interjected between the characters. I certainly hope Jonathan was just having a bad year and not starting to get stale in his writing.

Where does Guilt rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have pretty much listened to all the Alex Delaware series to date and this one ranks in the Top 10.

Who was your favorite character and why?

In this book it has to be Delaware because he carries the story line.

What does John Rubinstein bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It would not be a Delaware book without John Rubinstein.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. But it would have been less disjointed. Breaking it up makes you lose pertinent facts.

Any additional comments?

I liked this book mainly because I am an Alex Delaware fanatic. The one thing that mystifies me is why Kellerman insists on giving you a complete run down of each person's wardrobe. It just seems a little insignificant and has no real bearing on the end result.

I really enjoy the author's use of words. It pleases my ear and makes me smile. The descriptions of the places and the way the characters are developed have great appeal. I went back and replayed several chapters when I first listened to the audiobook, and will undoubtedly listen to the whole thing again.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot developed nicely and kept me interested and entertained, which is why I finished it in two days. Actually I would have done it more quickly, but forced myself to slow down as I knew I would be disappointed when the book was finished.

Have you listened to any of John Rubinstein’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Love Rubenstein's narration - they really make these books come alive. The individual character voices are always recognizable, and word flow and timing are excellent. Rubenstein's narration is one of the things I most enjoy about the Alex Delaware novels, and when I see that a new book is out, that's the first thing I check.

Any additional comments?

I've read all the Alex Delaware books and this was one of my favorites.

When I ordered Guilt I looked at the review promanently displayed on the page with the synopsis of the story. I have read all of the Alex Delaware books and was so skepical of reading (listening) to this one when the reviewer said it was the last Alex Delaware she would read. I know the subject matter was delicate but I thought this was one of the bext of J. Kellerman's works.

All my favorite characters were there and acting appropriately (true to character). The stroy was a fascinating one and quite convoluted which adds to the mystery. John Rubinstein is a great reader as Alex and Milo and I have trouble identifying with him in some of the TV dramas where I see him as he is still my Alex.

Dissappointments - yes, one major one. I don't want to give it away to readers so I must say the quilty party was not a well developed character. Usually the detectives or someone has more contact with this person in order for the character to be deceptive and the truth revealed. Not so here and It made a hole in the story for me.

Yes the formula is played out. Yes John Rubenstein always sounds like an old man with a cough , no matter the character. But for some reason it's always a pleasure finding out what Alex and Milo are up to. And just like most of you out there,I read these books just because they are there.